Jean Charest

Jean Charest (24 June 1958-) was Premier of Quebec from 29 April 2003 to 19 September 2012, succeeding Bernard Landry and preceding Pauline Marois. He also served as the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 14 December 1993 to 2 April 1998, succeeding Kim Campbell and preceding Elsie Wayne.

Biography
Jean Charest was born in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada on 24 June 1958, and he studied law at the University of Sherbrooke before qualifying as a lawyer in 1981. He entered the House of Commons in 1984 as a Progressive Conservative Party of Canada politician, and he became Secretary of State in 1986. He was Minister for the Environment from 1990 to 1993, and in 1993, following Brian Mulroney's resignation, he campaigned unsuccessfully for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party against Kim Campbell. He became Deputy Prime Minister in her government, succeeding her as party leader when he was only one of two Conservative members to be elected to Parliament in the 1993 general elections. Charest served as party leader until 1998, when he was elected to the National Assembly for Sherbrooke; he served in this post until 2012. That same year, he joined the Quebec Liberal Party, defecting from the Conservatives. In 2003, he was elected Premier of Quebec, and he served until 2012. That year, he resigned as Quebec Liberal Party leader and retired from politics.